On Tue, 16 Apr 1996, Alan Bradley wrote: > I recall reading, many years ago, that the famous "Whoo-oop! I'm the > old original iron-jawed, brass-mounted, copper-bellied corpse-maker > from the wilds of Arkansaw" speech by the Child of Calamity in Chapter > three of Life On The Mississippi had its antecedents in a speech by a > Senator Cassius M. Johnson. > > I no longer have access to the materials, and would greatly > appreciate it if some fellow Twainian could quote the Johnson passage > for me. Victor Fischer authorizes me to say that we (the Project) had not heard of this possible source until Alan Bradley mentioned it. We're trying to check it out now. In the meantime, remember that Clemens told Will Bowen on 6 February 1870 that "old General Gaines used to say, `Whoop! Bow your neck & spread!'" (Letters 4, 50; Huck Finn 1985, note to 110.7, p. 394). Of course we don't really know who *General Gaines* was--see the biographical directory in *Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer among the Indians and Other Unfinished Stories,* 319-20. Senator Johnson is at least not a US Senator, nor does that name appear in the NCAB index, spelled either Johnson, Johnston, Johnstone, or Jonsson. Course neither does our General Gaines, for that matter. Naturally if Mr. Bradley does get back to his materials and locates his source, we'd very much appreciate hearing about it. And if he don't, but just recalls what the nature of the source was, we still might be able to help. Bob Hirst Mark Twain Project [log in to unmask]